Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Elegant and refined-looking actor who got his first biggish break in the 1979 TV film version of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' as one of the comrades of Richard Thomas (of John-Boy Walton fame) in the Imperial German Army. He also makes an appearance in the British low-budget 'Alien' cash-in, 'Inseminoid' (1981) although he comes a cropper about five minutes in.

In 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (1979)

'Inseminoid' (1981)

For the greater part of his acting career, he has been a TV stalwart, seen in everything from soaps and potboilers like 'Emmerdale', 'Holby City', 'Casualty' and 'Doctors', to cosy crime classics 'Midsomer Murders', 'Ruth Rendell Mysteries' and 'Agatha Christie: Poirot'. My particular favourite is Hobson, his enthusiastic graduate policeman in the 'Beiderbecke' series. With his bewildered theories on individualists and 'unusual, possibly illegal' behaviour, he provides the perfect antagonist to Alan Plater's easy going liberal heroes played by James Bolam and Barbara Flynn.